Mother’s Day might not be until Sunday, but hey, why not celebrate all weekend long?

After all, Moms. Are. The. BEST.

Words will never express how thankful I am for all the ways my mom has shaped my life. Sure, she raised me, fed me, clothed me, and made sure I survived past childhood; but she also went above and beyond to give me a childhood full of creativity and wonderment. It’s thanks to her, after all, that I am interested in art — she was helping me with creative projects before I was even speaking in full sentences. Her curiosity has always amazed and inspired me. She can’t help but pursue the things that interest her, and it seems like she’s always learning, experimenting, and making new things. Best of all, she shares what she learns, and has been an invaluable source of wisdom and support throughout my entire life.

Yes, that is me. And yes, I still make a mess when I paint.

When I was a kid, she was always willing to let me play with her art materials, even though I often made a mess of her studio. Whenever I was bored or curious, there she was, ready to help me channel my creativity into a new project. One project that was PARTICULARLY special to me was the “book illustrating” she helped me do in kindergarten. Throughout that year, she helped me write down stories that I came up with, and provided the materials for me to illustrate them. I’d bring them to school and read them to my class. I felt SO COOL!

A few years ago, she gave me a binder FULL of those very stories! She kept them all (that dear woman) and what a treasure they have become!

Looking through those old stories, I can’t help but notice that I’m still compelled to draw the same things I was back then — cats, fruit, nature, birds…

…and jars! Lovely, lovely jars, full of delightful things! (This is a page from the story “Muffin the Puffin”, about a Puffin who LOVES to eat gummy fish from the candy store. One day, of course, he eats too many of them and gets sick. So then he learns to eat REAL fish and decides, in the end, that they are just as good.)

I stumbled upon this old gem while I was taking a break from an illustration I was working on. An illustration that just happened to include:

JARS! Full of delightful little things!

(Pickles, fireflies, and seashells, oh my!)

SO…THANKS MOM! — for all the support, wisdom, time, and camaraderie. Thanks for encouraging me to be myself, and for helping me pursue a life of artistic adventure. Thanks for the laughs, thanks for the cookies, thanks for listening, thanks for the love.

And thanks for the hugs, too. (My mom gives really, REALLY good hugs).